Poison Kisses
by lotus325
Summary: A peculiar experience inside his esoteric tea house leaves Byakuya psychologically affected. As he tries to recover, he finds he cannot forget. Renji, Rukia and Ichigo attempt discernment. Beware, Disney muses.
1. Once Upon a Dream

**Poison Kisses**

AN: Welcome! I'm fascinated with horror and the psychological effects it has on the human mind, I thought I may try my take involving Byakuya despite that I fear I've made him unrecognizably out of character. Writer's block dictates chances this story will ever be completed is not high. Bleach is Kubo's. I have also enjoyed writing the accompanying poetry, please don't use without my explicit permission. On another note... I'm also looking for a beta for this chapter and the next ones. And lastly, I don't believe there will be much romance...but so far pairings include: Ichiruki, ByaHisa, and implied onesided RenBya.

There's talk of religion, but just in passing. This story will not focus on religion or be about it. In fact, the artistically-creepy, gorgeous chapter 501 embodies what I am trying to do with this story: bring fear into Byakuya and show a process of recovery.

Deepest thanks and dedication to StarLight9 whose friendship and long ago advice allowed for this...

* * *

**_'By the pricking of my thumbs, __  
Something wicked this way comes.' _**

_- Macbeth_

**_Chapter One – _****Once Upon a Dream**

I

Walking this path was familiar. He took it when he wanted to clear his mind and think, sometimes just to write poetry or practice calligraphy. It led to a charming traditional tea house with alluring gardens and cherry blossom trees surrounding it and the small lake. It was their little haven, Byakuya and Hisana's. Byakuya frequented that private breadth still years even after his wife's death, finding comfort in the familiarly and lingering memories.

It was further down, enough a length away from the main section of the family mansion that it drew no attention. Taking the long wooden bridge elevated above the water by merely a foot or so, he followed the zigzag pattern until he reached the entrance of the area he sought. It was not the largest he had beheld; in fact, it was rather small. Byakuya didn't mind it in the slightest. Stepping in, a hint of a smile crossed his features. The poems with dried black ink were ones left from his last visit; they were still in place, as ever. Nothing was ever misplaced. No other he knew of passed through this particular area anymore other than him, especially during this time late into the evening.

The darkening loom was replaced by flaming candlelight. Gently bathing the room in its light, it also began mixing with the air to create more warmth. It brightened the noble's off-white silk robes, enhanced further by a contrast of inky black from the obi at his waist.

Sweeping the room with one final glance, he sat to the side, carefully picking up calligraphic brushes, ink and the heavy white sheet papers and assembling them to his preference. Then the ink from the brush tainted the whiteness of the paper.

_Colours_

_The palest of pinks_

_Mingled in tints of yellow_

_Off-white_

_And some lavender_

_Sits upon the rainwater stream_

_In the form of a rose_

_Gliding away_

_But being pushed gently_

_By the stirring water_

_The rain comes down harder_

_After time_

_And I see you – rose - drift further_

_And out of my vision_

_Entirely_

_To be missed_

_In your death_

_In our closeness_

_I can never let you go_

II

Several hours later, Kuchiki Byakuya stretched lightly, and turned his head.

Adjacent to the entrance laid a half barrier, the left side exposed to an open overview of the pond and gardens. They were almost in full bloom at this season. Walking onto the platform outside that area, Byakuya took a seat on soft thick sheets previously spread out. Breathing in, he again noticed the freshness and crispness of the night air.

Small tiny blossoms and their petals, so resembling Senbonzakura's flight, fell around him. The wind picked up and blew them even further into the tea house, above the rectangular shape beyond the shorter wall on the outside where he sat, to lay scattered inside. His hair flew around his face and his irritation at the gesture escaped his bearing. Even more irritable were the sleeves of his robe that flew upward enough to brush his checks several times. Byakuya turned his face fully toward the wind so his hair and sleeves flew instantly behind him before turning his face toward his left to look through the sadouguchi entrance. He glimpsed that out of the many lit candles he donned in lieu of light, four flames were out. Alone without an audience, the noble allowed himself a sigh. He frowned then; a small furrow on his brow and the slightest narrowing of eyes. The wind was unusually heavy in this area. The carefully planned trees and gardens usually prevented such amounts of wind from passing through. And where he was, at the heart of the elaborate gardens, it should not have been so strong, it never had been before.

Through the tall cherry blossom trees the speed and power of the wind increased, enough to startle the small pond, caressing the water into forming ripples. Even the petals of cherry blossoms and various plucked flowers moved roughly toward him, rippling water guiding the ones resting atop. It was as if they were there merely for the purpose of blowing him away. The reflection of the full moon on the dark waters became distorted but the scene looked beautiful even in the chaos.

Byakuya allowed his eyes to flutter close, a response to the heavy wind searing at his now burning eyes. He took a heavy breathe and with the sense of vision temporarily absent, the scent he picked up in the air rose richer. _So intoxicating._ Like a sweet dose of wild roses and a rich flavoured sake brew. He could not help but inhale it because soon the clarity of air became intermingled with the scent, the scent twirled everywhere.

What was the scent? His eyes suddenly shot open but nothing appeared out of place in the scenic area. No movement, not any sign of life present. Even the wind seemed to have disappeared.

_What was that scent?_ How could he not have noticed before that it was certainly not natural? It could not have been from just this natural premise. It was a scent that had to be laid out, sprayed, and leaked, due to the amount and strength. Certainly it did not originate from where Byakuya sat. The wind must have carried it. _But the wind continued on even after the scent engulfed you_, yet it is still here, a small part in his mind seemed to say. Perhaps it came across from where the mansion lay. He frowned again. _The directed of the mansion is directly behind me_. It could not have come from there. It was an odd occurrence for sure because he knew no living establishments were near enough to produce the directed scent.

He froze. Completely still, he peered over the stagnant water of the koi pond into the greenery.

But what left Byakuya a little more started were the eyes he felt on him. He could not see anyone, it was merely a feeling. Years of shinigami training and battles had taught him to trust in his first instinct. It had saved his life countless times. He felt watched. Byakuya was at a disadvantage. He felt watched yet he could not discern from where. Senbonzakura a silent weight next to him felt reassuring and his slender hand reached toward the deadly weapon.

His pale hand gleamed in the moonlight as he picked up his zanpakuto silently. The light touching his hand dimmed as Senbonzakura was finally in his grasp as his other hand reached to pull the scabbard away slightly. The gleam on Senbonzakura's exposed blade shone a reflection of the moon.

No other hint of reiatsu present, nothing indicating others around him except the distant ones of those in the Kuchiki mansion. His sister, his lieutenant and Kurosaki were there as well as the rest of the Kuchiki household. That was to be expected, however, who else could be here? In all his time of coming here, with Hisana while she still breathed and alone after Hisana passed, he had never encountered another person even near. The tea house resting upon the outer portion of the small pond was deep in the Kuchiki gardens. Many centuries ago, the small but elaborate tea house was constructed by the clan leader for his bride as an honour to their love for the two had fallen in love at the very location. Since then, the tea house was only used by the main line of decedents. Byakuya's own father had mentioned sharing moments there with his mother to him as a child.

The breathe he let out was manual, only then did he realize he was previously trapping the air flow. He inhaled again softly. Despite the unknown situation he remained calm. It was the key to overcoming such a circumstance.

The blade in his right hand, the sheath in his other, Byakuya slowly moved from his position of seiza to one of standing. Glancing behind him swiftly alerted him that two more flames went out, leaving only four remaining. Little light left, but he could see well enough. He could use a kido light superbly if that happened, and if worst came, he would not need it. There was sufficient moonlight for fighting. Fighting required no light.

"Come out," he commanded his voice steady and low. Nothing happened. Then abruptly-

A sudden movement caught Byakuya's right eye and within that very second his blade slashed through the air, touching whatever it was. His eyes narrowed. It was only a leaf. Two halves of a leaf fluttered to his feet. Byakuya didn't let that distract him; his attention was focused on another threat. He surveyed the area while also thinking of his foolishness. Only a leaf had managed to accelerate the beat of his heart so! It never had happened like this in very, very long. Not since he was a child. He felt foolish and suddenly very young again. He felt the teenager that his grandfather had always reprimanded due to his grandson's quick temper and rash decisions again. But he could not dismiss the strangeness of the situation. He knew he felt something more than what his eyes presented to him. He felt a motion coming toward him, too heavy to have just been a leaf. It was as if an invisible being somehow brushed against him. A gesture pressing toward him, perhaps even passing him was what he felt. The touch, for he could not discern the exact feeling of what the gesture brought, lingered on his face. Byakuya's right side of his face tinged as if the lightest of clothes, perhaps his silvery windflower scarf, had pressed against his porcelain check. He didn't display the effects of the experience.

He didn't think further on that, _it_ was back. The rousing scent that enveloped Byakuya before appeared and settled back around his willowy form. There was no wind to bring it to him this time. The willful scent was so close he could not escape it. Not even when he moved backward, stepping further into the tea house did the scent leave. It seemed to do the opposite, instead of staying in place, it moved with him! But perhaps his rattled calm was just lending to this feeling! Surely a scent could not follow him in the manner this one seemed to! It clung to his adornments and above his face.

Four of the candles still lighted the small chamber overlooking the pond. They were the ones at the innermost part of the tea house and sat in diamond shape. Their light seemed to have gotten grander from their previous pitiful state without Byakuya's notice. Three inches in height were the flames, about half the length of each slim, teal candle. Wax dripped faster than ever to the white-gold center of the candle holders. The golden lights beamed toward the tea ceremony set sitting innocently in the corner. The glass bouncing the light back in a way the polished cherry wood could not. He breathed a sigh in, and regretfully inhaling the scent he had become wary of.

"There really is nothing there and I am foolish or there is, but… is unnatural," he could not help but say softly.

"_Master_," Senbonzakura's whisper touched his thoughts. Hmm.

"_Master, I feel a presence. I cannot recognise what it may be_." Byakuya exhaled and his zanpakuto continued. "_It is not human. It carries no reiatsu, it is nothing I have seen before_."

_I will tread carefully_, the noble related back. His hand shook slightly, almost unnoticeable before his eyes.

He inhaled sharply.

Byakuya took another step further into the room, but could not help the imbalance of his weight. A small weight seemed to press him lightly on the back of his neck. A tight sting seemed to have been placed at his ankle horizontally so when he took another step his foot touched it harshly. He stumbled but managed to break his fall, just enough that he noticed the closeness of the fire. It was inches from his face - something that greatly alarmed him. Heat from the candle flames touched his skin fiercely, breathing it, relishing it, kissing it. His light pants drawing a reaction from the large flame. _It_ wanted to harm him it seemed.

Swiftly he rose and glanced at the ground. There was nothing. No string or anything that could suggest his fall was not merely out of his own clumsiness today. _It is to be expected_, Byakuya warily though, _given the vague nature of this…presence_.

Byakuya didn't take his eyes off the candles, couldn't. The lights were flicking in the darkness. A small amount of smoke seemed to be rising from the one furthest from him.

He inhaled once again.

This time the scent caused a slight tingle as it touched the back of his throat. Light spots danced over the dark richness of wood interior, the candles, and then eventually overwhelming even the flame lights, they increased and covered what should be clear vision. Byakuya brought a hand up to his face and squinted then blinked many times to clear his vision to no avail. Senbonzakura clanged to the floor. His head spun. The illusionary vision of the room he saw swayed and seemed to spin before his eyes, leaving him disoriented. He was like a bloom in the sea, powerless and being consumed, not meant to be. His breathing sharply increased to short, jagged pants when his vision left him entirely. _What is this?_

Byakuya first collapsed on his knees, scrambling desperately to grasp his katana blade. The ringing in his ears augmented. He could not think clearly.

"_Senbonzakura -"_

"_Master, you must -"_

And it was the last thing he heard before he fell entirely to the floor, unconscious. Long black hair spread across the floor and the body lay in an uncomfortably warped position lying on the side. The white kimono's outer layers splayed out created a still vision of beauty.

A page of calligraphy fluttered in the wind.

_Lying still bittersweet_

_Crushed exquisiteness upon a portion_

_Dead in the breeze_

_Voice caught in my corpse_

III

It was dark even with the candle light flickering, and it was when he first opened his eyes that he noticed the flicking of the candle. The night was still, yet the candle moved as if a wind blew it. Compared to the extraordinary length of the previous flame, it was very small now. Byakuya did not want to ponder of what had caused that to occur, many strange things had taken place already. He was startled, loathe to admit such a weakness, but unable to help but feel it pull at his heart. Not one to lie to himself about his feelings, he freely admit that.

He could feel his hands shaking, unable to stop the reaction.

In front of him, his left arm was stretched, palm upward. As he lay on his left side, he could not help but notice the obvious: blood. Little in quantity, but there on his fingertips it was blatant. Pearls of red formed little droplets and then joined others. Crimson liquid dripped down his fingertips, into his knuckles and down in-between. Pages were scattered across the floor. Byakuya felt the droplets settling down into the poetry pages beneath his hand, staring in morbid fascination, unable to stop for unknown reasons. He felt lightheaded…he didn't recall ever feeling so dizzy before. It seemed to cause his limps to feel weak, rendering movement difficult.

How could he have allowed himself to be reduced to such a position?

The noble felt extremely vulnerable. Never before was he exposed to being in such a strange position. While his mind tried to tell him it was just a thief or a common trickster, his racing heart and his zanpakoto warned him only of a feat he thought once impossible: that concerning the unseen.

Byakuya remembered back to the time many years, before he even met Hisana, when he had once faced a hiding assailant. His enemy had hid so well that his movement locations were tricky to spot. His weapons thrown at him at such a speed it was almost impossible to tell which direction it was coming from and which way it was headed for. Byakuya had become tired of the game of dodging. His far more easily angered and younger self turned the game around. He had used the superior shunpo, moving at such a speed that he had managed to be the one hidden predator and the target the lost prey. This was not such a situation. The movements of this unseen were unpredictable. Perhaps the only thing he could gather at all was the candle flames and lingering scent as evidence for _its_ whereabouts.

It was his body's reaction to the unexpected to jump slightly. A small wet something touched his ankle. Something long and silky slithered up his left feet, curling around once then twice in slow movements. The hissing sound started and Byakuya started in mute horror as the snake's head rose above his position on his shin looking right at his eyes. It looked through him. Deadly and starved, it wanted to _consume_ him.

He froze.

"Senbonzakura," Byakuya whispered out fiercely in a hoarse voice to his blade although he could not spot it anywhere beside him. In fact, he could not even sense him causing visible confusion to display on his feature. He didn't think further on that- there wasn't much time.

The snake was black except for the red hissing tongue reaching across toward his face.

It didn't get a chance to bite- Senbonzakura's petals flew across the space and severed it into pieces. Blood splattered everywhere. The silky white kimono attached crimson spots amassed at the hem. The noble almost didn't even feel the sharp spots of pain appearing as his shock mounted, his own zanpakuto's blades digging into his flesh.

A second later the illusionary petals disappeared, this time the blade that he could not locate appeared just next to his right side. Not only that close, but it dug closer, enough that Byakuya could feel a sharp shock pass through his form. It was of pain and he could hardly believe it that Senbonzakura's complete blade would allow the spilling of his blood. It was one or two inches inside his side and close enough to scrape his rib bone. The tears welling up in his eyes were a helpless reaction of shock and incomprehension of his situation. His breathing stopped as he was trying to retreat from the pain. Deep within himself where there would no longer be any confusion, any cadaverous telling.

The pain wasn't something he had never felt before. To wield his willful zanpakuto he had trained vigorously, enough to gain small fading scars telling of struggle. But those were different; they were of a sort of victory. This touch _burned _like never before. It was as if the blade was made of acid for the sheer purpose lay to bring about his deterioration. His hands became bloodied as he gripped Senbonzakura's bare blade, anything to dislodge it from his body.

_Why? _

It would not move much, it was as if a pull was placed. Every time his hands managed to pull the blade out by a millimeter, it would force back into his flesh by two more. His own blade was trying to eat at his heart! He tried to muffle his protests of pain. He could no longer think enough on them. Moments spent trying to catch his breath, coming out jagged and harsh and the usually shell pink lips turned a bright red at the helpless damage done. Such was his pain that he barely felt the smooth movement glide up his tense legs.

Without evening seeing them, he knew. The hissing reverberations on his skin gave them away entirely. There were more snakes. Tiny, but still threatening, Byakuya became all too aware as the snakes continued to reach him. He didn't know how many, but of a substantial quantity, enough to be jarring. They breached his skin and the noble could not help but let out a pained gasp.

Byakuya had never felt so helpless before. It was so…_terrifying_. Being so helpless was disturbing, even more with the threat of his own zanpakuto embedded in his flesh.

What could he do?

Desperate enough to try anything, even without his mind's consent, Byakuya's body acted on pure impulsive, panicked reactions. He jumped, trashed his legs as an attempt to divert the snakes, in vain. They swung on; becoming angered even more, rage visible in their hissing song. Senbonzakura's blade a permanent thought on his mind as it dug deeper and poked at vulnerable flesh. Byakuya scrambled back again, and to his immense relief the blade came free with a clang. The pain of that fall was enough to bring a short yelp through his throat.

There was no time to think of it. The snakes were rushing toward him and the one on him still slithering forward. They were not feeling threatened, but threatening. Byakuya risked getting up; snake still attached to his leg, and flashed through the opening of the tea house. There was hardly any breathe left in his lungs. He felt they would tear, explode due to the lack of oxygen and breathe. He could not even notice the sweet scent any longer. He didn't stagger much longer because the side of the entrance he had taken only led to an elevated back sitting area with only a standing overhead, with no escape.

He felt something begin to drip down his nose. Perhaps it was water, or perhaps blood. It became cold enough that he could no longer tell, even though the pain.

He could no longer help himself. He fell slack sideways, almost into the still pond. His balance and disorientation were abysmal. _I cannot even support myself, my fall, _he though. And with that thought, he watched as the liquid trickled down his nose, into his mouth where he was forced to taste it.

_Drip._

Blood, it was only more blood. It dripped into the pond.

_Drip._

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Drip._

He heard his own breathing and black spots filled his vision. The left arm he held onto the edge of the platform loosened slightly and the right arm he clutched at his wound shook. His knees were underneath him and the snakes were around him, touching him, violating him. Byakuya barely felt it as he dipped, orientation lost, into the blackened pond, dragging the snakes with him.

Immersed in the water, the pressure of the water triumphed over the prone figure and in that moment, a superior pressure hell-bent on breaking him was discerned. The pressure was on his chest, it was as if something was trying to penetrate into his being- something trying to pry open his chest and see what his heart looked like. Byakuya could provide no defensive response to it - the trashing of his hands and legs futile and the layered kimono he had donned earlier becoming so heavy through the water.

_What pitiful life._

He took his last breath.

The pain of previous air was futile. Only water entered his lungs.


	2. Song of Decadence

**_Drunk on ego;_**

**_Truly thought I could make it right._**

**_If I kissed you one more time to help you face the nightmare;_**

**_But you're far too poisoned for me,_**

**_Such a fool to think that I can wake you from your slumber_**

**_That I could actually heal you…_**

- _Sleeping Beauty,_ A Perfect Circle

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_**Chapter Two – **_**Song of Decadence**

IV

With a gasp he woke. Shot upright into a half lurched position and tense all over. Breathing rough enough to overwhelm any other noise, he looked around. The tea house remained in the same condition as he had previously seen before he fell. _Only a dream then?_ _Was it?_ The thought filled him with immense relief.

There was no stab wound, nor were there any slithers. The blade that was Senbonzakura lay stretched out across the small area just beside the china ceramics.

He was no longer sure what had happened.

The inky pages were still spread across the room. It took the noble a few seconds even to even realise there were two underneath him, but were ripped. Most of the candles were out, only one remained this time. Very slowly he slowly stood, making slower movements as if to test his strength then finally he stood upright. It was disgruntling the particular way the necessity of these slow motions reminded him of old age.

This could not be real. _How can this be real? Something so strange, so unnatural… How can this be real? It is unheard of in Seireitei, even in the whole of Soul Society. Only humans experience this phenomenon, confusing themselves into thinking them hollows, souls or shinigami they encounter and that they can see or understand are ghosts. _

Perhaps soon he would stop breathing entirely. Whether from phantom pain or shock, he would not welcome it like. This fight was not fair, he wished to live longer. He was not ready to join her yet no matter how much he wanted to see her. He wished to figure out the intricacies of this strange meeting, almost as much as he wanted to be away from it. More than those reasons, it was the basic instinctive pressure of being a soul, or being _human_, to survive, that held him firm.

Byakuya looked down into the pond. It was the only thing he could think to do. The tiny snake were coming up and coming around him, blocking his entrance back, slithering silkily from the water onto the bridge. While he knew the smaller, harmless snakes were not uncommon so far from the main Kuckiki home and gardens, he had also never before witnessed so many at once. His breathing pounded into his head, because how could he not think of those moments earlier involving painful demise.

The water seemed to mock at him. His reflection showed his sorry state and the moonlight was intensifying it to such a degree that he could clearly see the stark red on white that were his blood and robes. His hair was in a state he had hardly seen since his wild childhood days: messy and wild. The panic in those eyes scared him the most because it was foreign and _how can I believe that is me. _

And in the pond where the white met the red, he could clearly see one overwhelm the other. Less white and more red twirled on the moonlit pond. And it was there Byakuya noticed the red looked even more vivid, less like a reflection and more like a reality. _But how?_

Blood. It was blood. Blood was in the pond, rising slowly around him. The portions of the reflection that could not have been his reflection, only the moons, became a thinly red liquid. There was something in there, something hurt. The horror of this brought a lump in his throat because _perhaps it was a person! _Someone was hurt and he was too terrified to discover the truth. Too emotionally traumatized to even offer assistance.

It could not be his blood, could it? Most definitely not. Logically it could not be since there was no blood outside of his body.

What was it then?

Byakuya stepped closer to peer into the diluted crimson waters, careful to maintain his step to remain steady. Freezing didn't prevent his reaction this time.

Bile rose in his throat.

He could not tare his eyes away.

A move as uncharacteristic as the events in this night followed: a sharp scream tore from his throat. Shrill and like nothing his lungs had ever attempted or he knew to be capable of, a move Byakuya didn't know he could accomplish and here he was, unable to stop it.

V

His instincts were screaming at him! Run! But running could not help him. His body could not move perhaps even from the pure blow alone. But his eyes were closed. They burned. He could not bear for a second longer to see what he had just witnessed. He could not even turn around; he was frozen in the same useless position. His legs trembled and his knees went week, his whole body seemed as if it had been submerged into a freezing pool, so cold that it was burning fire. While Byakuya's lungs desperately ached for fresh air, he hardly noticed. He had stopped his breath, keeping still as possible without the actual knowledge. It was a destitute mechanism for trying to keep whatever preservation he had left.

_Thud_, something clanged harshly to the ground behind him. The sound instantly seemed to revive him. The previous frozen state he was in fled him entirely and he took no time to take in the fallen unlit candle and holder, rushing out with his wildly beating heart on shaking legs. With a distant air Byakuya turned the corner around the last steps of the elevated panels and he used shunpo to escape the darkness surrounding the unlit secrecy. The fey atmosphere was left behind entirely diminutive moments later.

Light entered his overwhelmed vision moments later. The light yellowy tint resonated and was surrounding a portion of a less direct path toward an informal entrance to the mansion; in fact it was a back garden entrance and led to his chambers in moments. Byakuya ignored all this. Only memory allowed him to navigate around the entrance, onto the porch and then further inside and down the hallway without crashing into anything in his great haste. But he barely even noticed any of it.

Byakuya's mind was distant to his surroundings now. He seemed in a state of shock and by now, while his exterior disposition was seemingly unruffled slightly still, his heart still beat passionately in his chest. An inner conflict was taking place in his head, but somehow his mind seemed frozen to him. _I do not know what I saw, but I can't even think. My brain will not function no matter how rational I try to be, what the eye has seen..._ At the back of his mind, he noted he felt grateful that no one occupied the halls in the eastern entrance. _I cannot control my breathing, it is still beyond the steadiness it should be, and I cannot focus,_ he noted dully.

By now he had stopped his flash-steps and was walking in a brisk manner. Byakuya turned to the right and passed shoji walls with gentle paintings of blossom trees before arriving into his personal quarters. Manually shutting the door and then locking it hurriedly, for no apparent reason, Byakuya finally allowed his controlled façade to slip somewhat further. _Only slightly will I allow myself this_, because he knew if he let go of his control entirely he would not be able to recover in time.

His walls of control and discipline came down for those moments.

His trembling, uncontrollably shaking hands came up to his chest, rested at the area just above his heart. His eyes slid shut and he listened to his heart pound in his ears and jump on his fingers. He knew he needed to calm down somewhat, it would only be worst for his mental and physical state now if he were to allow the shock to consume his soul. He tried to clear his mind; a mocking image of a visible brush painting the picture surface white appeared to take away _it_, the sight, from him for moments, but immediately after his eyes snapped open. Byakuya gagged, unable to take the image and the scent - the scent drove him _mad_. Bile rose in his throat, burning and raging in its taste. _I can no longer bear this_; an inner voice stated the obvious and sounded remarkably like his lieutenant. Looking up from the wastefully large mirror hanging above the bathroom sink counter, he continued to gage vainly, but soon Byakuya turned his face away from his appearance, unable to look at _that_. _What have I become, what has happened to me? Such an encounter changing me so greatly, my strength all gone, my bones feel weak. _He gagged again, feeling more bile rise in his throat. The disgusting feeling of the bile was certainly related to his feelings of disgust with himself. He had lost it tonight. _I'm lost entirely_. He had let out a scream tonight. The scream was a shrill one; one high in a pitch that he could not have thought to be related to his regular tenor. Yet at the moment, he didn't even remember doing it, he only noted the loud sound around him perhaps unable to even process that it was himself that let it out.

Seven minutes later, Byakuya stepped out of his bathroom and into his expansive bedroom. Moving past the bed and away toward the far direction of the room where elaborate floor length windows seemed to elevate the room in height, Byakuya walked past that, glancing at Hisana's vanity table he had arranged for construction prior to their marriage, and saw his full reflection in the long mirror. A shining kenseikan sat on the side of the table. Without her there to use it, Byakuya occasionally used the space to weave the kenseikan into his hair. He felt a twinge and he quickly tore his eyes away from the sight. He approached the wardrobe and quickly changed clothing and unceremoniously dropped his previous dirty clothing into a heap at the foot of the wardrobe. _I have ceased caring about such trivialities; I cannot stop thinking of what I have just witnessed. _

Byakuya tried to move gently on the bed, but could not seem to stop the shaking in his limbs and all but collapsed onto the soft mattress. The noble let go of the rigid way of holding himself and wilted into the comfort and turned to his right side, legs curling slightly. His whole body seemed to let out an unbearable amount of tension and he fought to keep his eyes open. _Those images, _that_ image. What dignity remains of me now?_

His head spun ever so slightly and his body shook softly so that his orientation was lost. The room seemed to spin and Byakuya breathed.

His heart sped up a little bit more.

The lights were out but the moonlight seeped into the room. His eyes fell on the highlight that fell upon a plum coloured canopy drape. _Try to think of normal things._ And he thought of the drapes. The drapes seemed to come from the ceiling, but were from the canopy of the bed. He always left them open. He didn't like the feeling of being enclosed and would have long gotten rid of the ridiculous frame if not for the comfortable mattress and placement. Today, he felt different about it. _Today, in my room and in my bed, I feel safe; a most childish reaction_, he thought as he mentally berated himself. _Hidden from the world..._

His eyelids shut and soot black lashes greeted his cheeks. It was finally tranquil.

_BANG!_

Byakuya stiffened, all previous tension returning to his limbs within the second. His head rose toward the direction of the door and his heartbeat became a rapid fire.

_BANG! Bang, bang._ The ponding seemed not to desist and he felt the shock of the resonating movement.

"Taicho! Kuchiki TAICHOOO," it was his idiot of a lieutenant if the reiatsu and yelling hadn't given it away already. _Why now…?_

"Kuchiki taicho! Sorry to disturb you- I- well… Can I come in?"

By now Byakuya had slumped back into his white bed sheets and didn't answer. _Hopefully Renji will receive the hint._

Silence.

"…Taicho? I'll just speak from here. I sense you're in your room…and by now I'm sure you're awake by my knockin'," and Byakuya's mind supplied him with '_knocking? Pounding did you mean to say?'_ "Are you alright? Rukia and Berryhead- well Rukia really, tiny woman threatened'a kick my ass - girl made me come 'ere." Abarai continued in an elevated voice unaware of how it caused Byakuya to wince into his pillow.

Byakuya had to strain to hear the last part because Renji continued in a small voice, "So…we sensed your sudden entrance and your…alarmed reiatsu." More silence.

"Taich- Byakuya."

_Go away, Renji. _

"I'm concerned, wha' happened?"

After a few moments of awkward silence on Renji's part, he continued. "C'mon Taicho…don't be like that. We're na' even working now. Open the door."

Renji seemed to be trying a different tactic. "I wanna talk to you, open t'door! You'll probably kill me for this but…" And this time Byakuya heard Renji put his large hand on the doorknob and twist harshly - to no avail. _It was locked_, Byakuya though in private triumph. The smallest hint a smile of victory spread across his face.

"…Byakuya."

_Renji is nothing if not persistent._ It was that though that finally forced him to swing his legs over the edge of the bed and get up after the moment. He stumbled slightly but instantly tightened his control and walked over calmly toward the door. His façade was in place.

"…Sorry," he heard Renji utter softly, perhaps turning to go. It was at that moment Byakuya slowly opened the door, pushing it a few inches open to peer at Renji's half-turned body. Renji jumped slightly at the sound of the opened door but flashed a sheepish, chagrined grin at his captain over his half-turned shoulder. He glanced downward to look at Byakuya.

Their eyes met.

"What is it, Abarai-fukutaicho?"

This time Renji seemed not to have an answer. "Ummm, well…" The noble watched his lieutenant's face pale slightly and his Adam's apple drop as he gulped. _Perhaps it's due to being face to face._

"Yes… Abarai?" Renji thought his captain's voice was almost unnoticeably sweeter than normal. He only ever heard it a few times before. It was an open sign his patience was running thin, not a good thing.

"Well. Wha' happened to you, taicho? Rukia, Ichigo and I were concerned." And although Byakuya didn't wish to be bothered, he was inwardly deeply touched by their concern. _What have I done to deserve this? I still remember Rukia's hurt… _He knew they had forgiven him for his role playing right into Aizen's hands, but sometimes his mind couldn't even fathom and accept fully how they could…even after all that time.

"I am fine, Abarai. It's late; I was merely rushing to get back here." The noble wasn't sure why he let the lie slip so easily from his mouth. His strange situation certainly was alarming enough to warrant a search of some kind… and yet he also wasn't entirely sure what had happened himself. He didn't want his lieutenant, let alone sister and Kurosaki boy somewhat, to venture to brave the experience, to shed some light on the situation. There was another reason Byakuya certainly didn't want to contemplate. _What if it was all in my head? Could such a thing really have happened? _While he questioned his exhausted mind, his heart and body told him it was reality. _But how could it be? Although… stranger things have happened._ _NO, I am not mad. _The thought firmly stuck to his head and he resolved to fix the issue at a later point. _Could I go back to such a place? …I have to risk it I suppose._ The though send cold chills up his spine even as Byakuya struggled desperately to control his body's response hence Abarai would notice.

_Too late, I really do not give him enough credit_, the noble lamented in the privacy of his head. "I can see something is wrong. I've known 'ou long 'nough so say otherwise. You could say I've become quite good at reading you. I know something happened. What is it?" His baritone was firm and strong, almost soothing and yet bothering. Renji pushed at the slightly open door even as Byakuya firmly held it to place. Renji pushed harder knocking, eyes widening as he watched Byakuya being pushed back a step by the force unexpectedly and uncharacteristically.

"Abarai," he heard his captain whisper warningly.

Renji stepped into the room through the tight space and shut the door firmly behind him. The lights from the hallway faded abruptly as the door closed and the lower portion of the two shinigami were bathed in soft moonlight in the otherwise night cloaked room. Renji could hardly see his captain's face now, but he knew he would normally be furious; he had just stepped into Kuchiki-taicho's private area _without_ permission. He held his breath and displayed an outwardly cocky stance. Now that he didn't have to entirely bear looking at the seething expression-

"Yo… Rukia's fever is getting a little worse, but Ichigo's there with her now. Rukia wanted me to get you. To make sure you were alright." Their eyes met again for the moment and Renji peered down his captain's body. There was no blood or sign of injury.

"Taicho… you're shaking," what he had originally though was the noble shaking with anger now appeared to be uncontrollable shivers. His eyebrows furrowed and his facial tattoo-like marks shifted.

Their eyes met again.

"Did anything happen?" _Stupid question, Abarai!_ Of course something had to have happened in order for his captain to respond like this. "Was it anyone? Who did this? I'm here t'help you." His captain let out a longwearing sigh, didn't even bother to hide it! The drooping eyelids closed fully and head lowered to hide his face fully in shadow.

"It was nothing." The situation was slowly becoming too overwhelming for Byakuya, he didn't think he could deal with his handful of a lieutenant. _I can't say nothing now… we've come a long way since the Winter War, it was almost four years ago. Abarai is my…admittedly…a friend. Just as Rukia is my sister now._ Byakuya resolved to fix their worry. After all, they were one of the only people he had come to genuinely care for and they had in return done the same. Renji deserved an explanation.

"I thank you for your concern. It's nothing, Abarai, I'm just a little tired. I need to sleep." It was meant as a cue of leave for Renji, one that the brawny man ignored. He only stepped closer to the noble and grasped a slender wrist gently between his own.

"We're close, aren't we? _Byakuya_? I know something scared you enough ta rush back here, to yer room for safety… Let me be your protection… Tell me what happened," Renji spoke freely in a manner he would not have dared to do otherwise in previous years. Byakuya frowned and looked at their joined hands between them. _Is there really no avoiding this?_

"You were coming from calligraphy?" Renji prompted.

Byakuya let out a tiny frustrated noise and looked to his right into the night. The branches of cherry and plum blossom trees swayed slightly while the loose petals danced in escape.

"Yes. At the tea house."

Renji tightened his grip at his tone, but eventually released the paler wrist while waiting in anticipating silence.

"I'm fine," Byakuya stated firmly after a few seconds before turning away and walking over toward the bed. "I would like to rest."

Instinctively Renji's hand shot out and grasped the smaller wrist again. "Please?" Byakuya shrugged the hand away painfully and resumed his walk toward the bed. He sat on the edge, still looking in the direction of the windows. Renji took a step forward undeterred by the show of rejection.

"…Something off occurred tonight. I am…indeterminate as to the exact nature of this occurrence and of what it was I experienced, thus I cannot conclude much to you." Byakuya'a tone was strained, at first spoken in a hesitating then rushing to let the words out fast enough toward the end.

Renji's eyebrows furrowed again. This something must have shaken Taicho up quite badly. He then came to a realisation. _He wants to let it out!_

Renji wandered further in the room he had never been inside of and sat upon a large wooden chair beside the bed. He had been very bold today. He looked across at his captain's face seeking authorization for the action which the captain didn't acknowledge at all. This whole situation was very odd for Renji. He had never seen his captain so shaken up before other than the time in the Fourth Division after Rukia's…

"I…can't explain what occurred. But there was blood. In the pond, there was blood and…"

"…And?"

"There was blood on my kimono, but I don't believe it was my own. A pressure seemed to form in my chest as if someone aimed solely to break my heart."

They both sat disbelieving at the words.

"I sensed something, but there was no one around me. Senbonzakura confirmed it." Byakuya glanced around the room, as if looking for his zanpakuto.

"Where is your zanpakuto?"

"I do not know. I think it's still left…_there_." How could he have left something so precious, so vital as his zanpakuto behind? Byakuya rose slowly. Byakuya tried to connect with his zanpakuto mentally. Senbonzakura's usual whisper remained dormant in his head and a small hint of panic escaped him in the form of a sigh. When he looked back to Renji he noted the robust man had a confused and anxious expression on his face. He was probably wondering about his captain, what a strange spectacle he had created for himself. Renji probably was shocked about seeing such a degree of weakness in his superior and Byakuya was not entirely sure how he felt about being perceived in that light.

"Ok, I've had it! You need to tell me now," Renji demanded. "What is this _where_? What the fuck happened? Do I needa call Ichigo? Rukia even, Byakuya!"

Byakuya wished to remain silent but years of entertaining his younger lieutenant's fastidious, carefree responses had left him letting out automatic replies. As the years went by, it bordered on a harmless tone, affectionate and humouring even.

"You would threaten me with my sister?" _She will likely threaten you for that._

Years of interaction left them familiar with each other and far more comfortable in each other's presence. Byakuya was even loath to say that he did not guard his external appearance as much as he should have done. He would let this one pass.

"There was the blood and… I was dreaming. That scent… " Byakuya's normally conducive mind supplied him with a form of speechlessness. The sublime experience left him a trying desperately to fill in the missing words.

"You said there was blood, but could there be someone hurt? Not you, but how the fuck could it have even gotten on you? Did you fight?"

Byakuya reluctantly spoke as he stood from his bed and stood by the widow, Byakuya's pale skin seemed like a pasty white against the dim white shine coming through the bars. It was hours from aurora yet, but the light was sufficient to make out just how clammy his clenched slim hands were. He answered monotonously "In a manner of speaking… The fight was rather one-sided, I don't know what I was fighting and I was unable to see it. I just felt I was watched." Renji frowned and moved from his sitting position to a standing one.

"But there was blood."

"…I do not know. It was from in dream. That's all." Byakuya whispered firmly as he tried to convince Renji.

Renji strode over to him and reached toward Byakuya's elbow this time.

"What are you doing?"

"C'mon, you're going to take me where this place is. I'm gonna check it out now. It's killing me."

"NO," the small yelped shout escaped Byakuya before he could arrest it. Byakuya felt very out of control at that moment.

"No," he repeated slower and softer this time. "Renji, it was only a dream. Leave it. I only remember now, the contents of the dream was startling. When I woke again I left immediately from the tea house. Do not go, Renji."

"Byakuya, you're shaken up! I need to check this out. What happened to cause this? Just a dream?"

Byakuya closed his eyes and sighed a little. This was becoming increasingly difficult. Renji would not listen to him. But he was at an advantage; Renji did not even know of the tea house's location. Still…he needed to be stopped at all cost. _What if what I experienced happens to him? _A small amount of bile threatened to rise once again. The gnawing fear in his heart seemed to consume his whole body. _Enough._ Another method would have to be used. They had been dancing around each other enough.

"Do not go…Renji. Stay," the past part was whispered. At that Byakuya watched from lowered lids Renji's breathe catch and his eyes widen significantly, he also noted he did not detest the idea of Renji staying, it was better than the alternative.

Renji did not say anything. Instead he moved closer to Byakuya until he noted the perfect moonlight hitting him full on. The rest of him was covered in shadow. The figure before him looked almost delicate now. A little too fragile for whom he knew Kuchiki-taicho and Byakuya to be. Some dream.

Reaching his arms around Byakuya's shoulders he allowed them to slump on the downward-curved limbs a moment before forcefully turning the slight body around to face him.

"Renji," Byakuya protested but did not resist the movement. He looked up the few inches into his subordinates face and noted the determined expression on his face.

As soon as he was turned Renji's potent arms curled around his shoulders again in a tight grip and it pulled Byakuya up further against him. Byakuya was surprisingly pliant. _Why am I even allowing this?_

"Let me," were the only words spoken, slight frustration and disappointment laced in his voice because in the end, Kuchiki-taichou had not told him anything substantial. _But…it's a start at least, isn't it, _he redhead thought as he silently promised himself he would keep persisting.

The noble's eyes fluttered shut at the comment and his entire tense body calmed a smidgen. The hands that were pressed up against the younger man's kosode ready to push the man off as planned earlier deterred.

"Abarai," the noble whispered, slightly stunned at the bold move. Renji's head was bent against neck and hair; the distended breathes pressing against his exposed neck. His cheek was pressed against Renji's left shoulder delicately, peering into the moonlit room as he tried to keep from inhaling Renji's distinct scent. He was unused to the type of contact; it was uncomfortably close for his liking but undeniably uplifting. Renji's arms tightened further as if in response. The widened slate coloured eyes disappeared again under drooping eyelids moments later.


	3. Whimsical

If he gives they will take away

His passion, his pain, his grace;

He exhales,

A thousand black flowers explode

Into butterflies as they're away

**_The Theft_; Atreyu**

* * *

_**Chapter Three – **_**Whimsical**

VI

[_Two weeks after_]

As he walked the path to the division he passed his beloved cherry blossom trees. It was fresh spring this season, and the gold of aurora shimmered before his eyes in the Seireitei. Engaging light, forever beauty and yet -

It did nothing for him anymore. The lively colours of the petite flowers and dark trees no longer brought him the peace it once had. A restlessness he detested seemed to settle over his soul such like that of lifelessness. Devoid; the empty listless form eating at his soul captivating him in his grasp, in his chokehold so that once again, the noble man could never sing away the decadence.

Two weeks had passed. By now Byakuya focused almost primarily on the smooth running of the division, he didn't wish to think of how he only did it as a distraction from his ordeal, something he tried not to think about at all times. The incident seemed to suck the joy out of whatever invigorated him before; peace eluded him increasingly and sometimes in the dark he thought he could still see the drops of crimson liquid on his pale fingers. He dreamed about it. Mirror-mirror eyes again on him, settling onto the water, still as ever and it was pouring the poison of his deeds even harder in his eyes. The water was the mirror and fairest wasn't him thus being a compelling scene of duty: kill the one who was. His reflection. There he stared at himself in the glassy surface for eternity that took just one breath to diminish. The blood would drop then, into the mirror like a symphony of the act of dying, a few drops more. Just a little more and then: the wicked fall.

The water settling onto his being, engulfing him in its deadly vice, often forcefully jerked him out from a disturbed slumber.

_(Mirror-mirror; watch your fall.) _

And it still uncharacteristically jerked him into reality and he once again took in his surroundings of delusions. Of delusions: of delicate flowers on the path; the ripening fruits seeking to brush against his hair; the white and blue birds twirling around each other. A beatified presence of serenity lost on him. The peace that he kept trying to chase forever was running from him; a lover wishing to be whimsical and he, the fool to keep chasing her, couldn't bear to settle with that he had.

He had tried many things to soothe his mind to no avail. Calligraphy held no release of that tension it once had and the long walks during the cool and peace of nighttime he used to enjoy did nothing but force him to think more of what he thought he had seen. He was slowly unravelling. He was a shell of his former self. _What a mess._

_Those nightmares…_

There were other issues also.

_Renji. _

Renji was still dubious of his declaration. Renji knew enough to say something might have happened despite that there had not been any visible harm on the noble, and the uncharacteristic actions of the captain was what brought about that judgement. Byakuya knew, but also didn't know how to release the knowledge of what occurred or what he felt occurred. It was simply that what made him tight lipped at that time, not to mention wanting to protect his pride as well as the protection of others.

By now he was not even sure of what actually occurred. It was such that it seemed he had come out of a trance, finally seeing reality for himself and now, after tasting the real thing, forgot the intimate details of before.

After all, what could have happened? Nothing, just that Senbonzakura had appeared at his bedside the next morning. _What did those actions indicate? That there was just one dream surely? Was there even a dream? _More than the memories he remembered the feelings. The mental state possessing so much fear, wariness, detachment - it sickened him. He was utterly helpless and frustrated with himself, his memories. He wanted to know the truth of that strange night, but deep inside an instilled fear and self-preservation kept him from going back to the tea house. Perhaps he was waiting for something, Byakuya mused as he turned right to another path.

But what?

The captain of the fifth division appeared then, walking by the noble all the while as he bellowed loudly into a mobile phone. Even with the practice of making violent hand gestures he threw in a small two-fingered wave in the noble's direction while flashing his regular shiteating grin as a greeting. Byakuya nodded back politely and watched as Captain Hirako passed him by.

Nothing.

Still nothing.

He walked on.

VII

[_Five weeks after_]

A loud sneeze broke the silence.

A leaf had fluttered and came to a rest atop a small nose and instantly small dainty fingers furiously brushed away at the offending piece of nature. She scowled.

Rukia was not technically hiding - she was merely trying to be invisible for the day - at least it was what she told herself. Indeed, she wished it was so.

_It's all Ichigo's fault!_ Ever since Ichigo had come to visit them in Soul Society, things had been gently spiraling out of control. Of course she could never forget her best friend Renji's involvement in her current unfortunate predicament either! Neither was at fault truly, but their knowledge concerning a certain topic _was_ and therefore they were wanted. Desperately.

She didn't know where Ichigo was at the moment either, but she was almost guaranteed one thing: he was hiding as well. Rukia wondered if she would find him again today and instead of pondering much on the topic she concentrated her efforts to getting to safety: her home. She knew hiding where she currently was would not hinder the members of the SWA much - if at all - she was sure they would soon find her location. Getting to the Kuchiki mansion would provide at least some protection. The guards situated around the parameters of the beautifully designed area knew to never allow SWA members (she didn't count) in.

While she knew there were exceptions - Kusajishi-fukutaicho, for one - the guards only let her in because for unknown reasons Nii-sama seemed to secretly tolerate her bring there if even only slightly. Rukia suspected that while her brother was severely irritated by the young lieutenant, he secretly held a soft spot for her. That also meant that even if the little lieutenant happened to be on Kuchiki property, Rukia could still escape and would at least be partially certain the rest of the camera-hoarding girls would not make it inside long enough to spy her.

As she stood from her secret spot, Rukia tried very hard to stay hidden behind the bushes and trees leading right up to the Thirteenth Division. No one would suspect her to be there, so close to her work area, or so she hoped.

"Kuchiki!" the confusion in the voice evident before her even saw her captain's expression. She yelped and jumped in terrible surprise, fighting the instinct that told her _run_, and then quickly turned around to face Captain Ukitake.

"Kuchiki, why are you hiding?" There was bemusement in the fatherly tone he took with her.

"Umm… you see, Taicho…" she decided the truth was the best way to go about this already embarrassing encounter. "The SWA," as if it seemed to explain everything. And it did. Ukitake-Taicho's expression turned to sympathetically understanding at once and even without the warranted specifics for explanation involving her previous hiding position he nodded. Truly he would know. He had been victim of the Shinigami Woman's Society before, not in the least bit harmless. Rukia remembered the cover the SWA issued with her captain pinned to a tree by sharp dagger embedded to his clothing to hold him down. The SWA had finally managed to capture a captain.

"Kuchiki-fukutaicho, I'll try my best to help. Where is it you need to go?"

Her overwhelming admiration for her captain grew, never mind that she was forced to take a small part of that unfortunate plan, he a wonderful captain.

"Nii-sama's house. They will have a harder time finding me there I believe, Taicho." _I hope_, she added in her head.

"Come this way, Kuchiki"

He led Rukia around his secluded living establishments' minutes away from the division, and walked with her around the blue-green lake.

"Is this anything to do with Ichigo-kun visiting?"

"Yes… and Renji is now involved in it as well."

"Ahh."

"Congratulation is in order first! I believe I haven't said that yet!"

Rukia smiled brightly, although feeling a little shy and uncomfortable with the matter, "Thank you!"

"It's about time he popped the question - you've been weaving around each other for years now." Ukitake smiled at the thought. He was very proud of the newly engaged couple.

"So? Have you decided on any wedding plans? Byakuya would probably want it to be here instead of the World of the Living…"

"Um... Kind of. Nii-sama did say that, as per clan expectations and such, but we're not sure. We want it to be in the living world, where all our other friends and his family are. It will probably be both… Nii-sama said it could be there, just that there will have to be a wedding here afterwards, just for show."

"You'll have plenty of time to decide, don't stress it!"

Rukia chuckled in an unusually shy manner – she wasn't used to so much attention on herself or on of the matter of herself with Ichigo and he knew it. Still, he had been her captain for too long to be distant toward her; the fact that he held Rukia in no small amount of paternal affection did not escape either of their notice, although professionally maintained. His previous lieutenant – Kaien, the one who he held in similar affections - had truly helped in building her growth as a fearless and admired shinigami. Ukitake was happy for her, the large smile showing teeth, almost a teasing one, showed as much.

"What did Abarai-fukutaicho do now?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" she asked with sparkling eyes and he chuckled and replied with an, "Of course, Kuckiki. Always given."

"Not much – just that aside from being one of our closest friends, he was actually in the living world when Ichigo proposed so he apparently knows, ahh, the details according to the Shinigami Woman's Association. Not that he wasn't there, but Chad, Inoue, Ishida were also there!"

"I see. I believe the SWA believes Abarai will cave to them since he's a friend to many of the girls, particular Matsumoto-fukutaicho."

"Exactly!"

"Those damn shinigami kept chasing me even when I said I didn't want to be interviewed with them! They even roped Hisagi-fukutaicho to being writer for the article. And when I told them no, they tried to tie me to the chair with Matsumoto's pink scarf and kido! We both ran, but Ichigo ran in the other direction so we'd lose them faster. I've been looking for him, but when I spotted the SWA again, I hid here!"

She watched with concerned, intense eyes as her captain broke into a coughing fit through the laughter. "Taicho, are you alright?" she asked heatedly and watched as he pulled out a white handkerchief to press against his mouth. _At least there's no blood this time_, she thought a little sadly, once again growing demure.

Still panting from the coughing fit, he managed a gentle smile to try to put her at ease.

Her concerned brow deepened further but she made no other sound.

"My, the SWA are very stubborn. I'm not surprised. But I know if anyone can stop them it will be Byakuya." He smiled and Rukia watched him with faith yet apprehensively thought about the numerous times her brother had caught the SWA, sans Rukia, in the mansion.

"I should get going then, Ukitake Taicho."

"Yes, Kuckiki, I'll walk you along. I'm headed somewhere near that direction myself, just a while past it to visit a friend and his wife before the captains meeting later." The petite shinigami nodded once and met the mischievous eyes of her captain and had to hide a laugh.

"Actually, Kuckiki, you might want to come with me. I think you'll quiet like the couple! At least no one will ever suspect you to be there! They're old friends."

"What do you say, Kuchiki?"

A smile threatened to break out on her face and she couldn't help but nod at the happy proposition.

"Good! Because they make the best fruit cakes!"

VIII

Byakuya's mind wandered and he allowed it. He had tried to concentrate on his current affair but his mind slipped so subtly onto other unwanted topics he noticed too late each time. It was the atmosphere, he had concluded. The candles illuminated around the room well enough, but brought back unwanted recollections to the forefront of his notice. Yellow and white: the candles burned.

It brought shadows to life. The darkness had a way of giving life to inanimate objects, creating souls that shouldn't exist, souls that were artificial. Imaginary. It made eyes see what they wanted and Truth was concealed evermore for those few hours. It was host for the perfect game of illusionary pretence. Satan's whisper came all the stronger.

The captain's meeting simply was taking forever. Hours of standing and listening were not too harsh, but to listen to expendable-worthy words and mundane reports from each division was grating on his already fatigued mind. His mind constantly thinking was not a new concept, it was enough of a normal, healthy occurrence that Byakuya had sometimes problems with reaching for calm enough state of mind rest for slumber in his stressful days. The pressure under his scalp helped greatly in indicating to him just how internally troubled he was which consequently proved how rampant his thoughts were prone to flow about these days without leeway of peace; instead, it was a clear indication of how badly he suffered these last few weeks. In his state, he was not deluding himself that he wasn't suffering adverse effects of…

He was always prone to headaches, but none as harsh as the ones whipping him during desperate, unchangeable situations. Byakuya was reminded of that time many years ago, but so clear in his memory he automatically felt his pulse react along to it, when Rukia was doomed to her fate of death. The helplessness of the dilemma he suffered then could not be compared, because it was his sister, his beloved's sister, but the similar discipline gracing the body was breaking down to the notice of only himself. _Perhaps also to Abarai this time._

"…number of hollows spotted in the Rukongai has increased exponentially without any known reason. They emerge and seem to have a similar thought process seen in the Arrancar… but their outward appearance remains the same. They are far more cautious and… Mark my words, captains that we seem to have a new threat looming over Soul Society."

At Hitsugaya-taicho's report the whole room seemed to come alive. The yawn Hirako-taicho currently was in the midst of stopped short. Zaraki-taicho's head shot up instantly with a small snap from his light sleep and without intention meeting smoky eyes with noticeably darker circles under them than usual. Byakuya looked back for a second then turned his head coolly. Shunsui's long hidden face emerged partially from under his straw hat and the sake cup in his hand tightened baring sharper knuckles. Soifon's focused eyes narrowed further.

"What are your thoughts on this matter? From your looks I gather no one noticed this before." Byakuya could speak for himself that Hitsugaya's thoughts were accurate. His division were holding administrative practices these last few weeks and less of active duty around Soul Society.

Sou-taicho looked up with a barely concealed worried glint in his sunken features. The lines on his face seemed to become deeper; the light playing over his head cast the man's shadow blue and vast, unnaturally distorted.

"This indeed seems like an issue we must at least consider. Soifon, have some of your men observe this phenomenon, gather details, the twelfth division will create erudition with your useful information. Kurotsuchi, communicate with Second Division regularly. Report any findings directly to me. We will hold another meeting after this task is complete."

"Any further questions?" No one moved and the looming shadow between their lines seemed to grow blacker.

Yamamoto-sou-taicho's hand extended slightly, grasping the old cane tighter (for once, held only by one hand to his right) and as a result his boundless shadow extended, almost touching Byakuya's feet.

_(Don't fall; it will engulf you in its grasp, the tempting allure.)_

He had to resist taking a step back._  
_

"Good day." Yamamoto-sou-taicho's nod indicated the adjournment of the long meeting and their dismissal.

Byakuya quickly strode out of the first division hall and burst into shunpu in the attempt to avoid any conversation with his fellow captains. Many of the assembled captains acted similarly perhaps with the same worry of the possible threat looming on their mind.

_So much more to worry about._

When he reached the empty sixth division he quickly opened he locked heavy door and wandered the dark halls to reach his office. Picking up the stack of sorted paperwork he was behind on (was he neglecting his work also?) he headed for the mansion.

Normally he walked the distance; this late at night was when he enjoyed walks the most. With a start he realised just how less of what he used to enjoy he did now. Very less, it seemed like the joy and carefreeness he associated with those arts and those walks were _still_ gone. No answer came still. _No_, it wasn't just that. It was that… while he was despised to admit it, he was afraid of what he would find in those answers. Going back there would give him closure but at what cost? Could what he went through be a _thing_, still be there? Could it somehow make his delicate mind worsen? What if it was…what if it truly was a dream? Just an illusion created by an overtaxed mind? No...It was real. It had to be.

His final steps were manual and he walked the last part. His concentration was abysmal compared to how it used to be. It had been five weeks since that and he still dreamt of it. It was the worry that perhaps he was slowly becoming insane. Embracing insanity without truly realising it even, those were his ultimate fear.

_Renji, how did you get here? _

"Abarai-fukutaicho," Renji looked up from his tranquil languish on Byakuya's extra futon in the corner. His arms were still behind his head as he sat up slightly to greet the noble.

_Yachiru taught you of the secret tunnels? Or was it Rukia this time? Curiously you've had no preservations of another's space…and I allow this more and more often why? _

"I found a way to get in here so stop lookin' a' me like that, Taicho! I'll never lose the habits of a healthy Rukon boy: snooping around and being where one shouldn't be! Though Rukia caught me sneaking in. Whatever, I was here to see her anyway." Eyes and mouth both seemed to smirk simultaneously, "But Rukia, she always seems to know what I'm up to. Che." The light illuminating around the room seemed to reflect off Renji's gleaming eyes.

"I see." Byakuya was unable to stop the one corner of his lip from rising up. Renji's grin became even bigger.

"It's pretty late, you look tired. Did you eat?" Byakuya internally sighed. Another problem. He didn't have much of an appetite lately. He didn't have lunch that day or everyday of last week, but he had to eat something to keep healthy and to maintain appearances. Otherwise people might find out, his paranoia screamed, that he had been on the verge of a mental collapse! He couldn't allow anyone to question his mental or cognitive abilities, he was surely not insane!

"I'll take that as a no. Rukia got back late too, not too long ago. Had a run-in with SWA," the last part was almost darkly muttered under his breath as if recollecting his own unfortunate experience with said group. "She's having a late dinner in ten minutes," Renji's eyes suddenly took on a slightly more serious look, "How'd the meeting go?"

"Not well exactly, it is just that a new form of hollows holding distinctly higher cognitive functions has emerged; it is enough of a problem that the twelfth and the second are to be investigating possible causes and methods of preventions as well as control." So he told Renji the rest of the discussion theories among the captains and looked into Renji's widened auburn orbs.

Renji continued, intrigued, "Sounds like I missed a lot. I've never encountered them, or if I have I didn't notice any difference. Hopefully they'll recover enough evidence.

"Nothing to be done about it now though! Let's go join Rukia and Ichigo for now, Ichigo finally made it back here in one peace. SWA didn't think you'd even allow him inside! Hah! Show's them."

Yes, he had to put something in his protesting stomach. Even little amounts prevented him from feeling the pull of persistent nausea swelling overwhelmingly.

"I shall join you three. For now, please leave so that I may refresh myself and change."

"Sure, Taicho. See ya!" And the redheaded shinigami walked out casually, surely heading to find Rukia, giving the captain much needed space for straitening his crumbling façade.


	4. Silent Apple

_**I knew this was going to take place,**_

_**White silence, so peaceful, so numb**_

_**No one knows the time they're changing;**_

_**No one will see through**_

_**You're all gone to me, (gone to me)**_

_**I've been pulled out to watch from my eternal sleep**_

_- Eternal Eclipse,_ Avenged Sevenfold

_**Chapter Four**_** – Silent Apple**

_Lovely stars and bright shining planets_

_Above our eyes rise in pale beauty_

_And twinkle like petite diamonds in the light_

IX

The moon is magnificent tonight. _Indeed, it was. The large crescent of an almost full moon hovered amid the midnight blue hues and seemed to give off an ethereal shimmer. The moon was closer to the Earth at this time and its magnified size helped in identifying the large craters engulfed in light. _

_The place was…_shining.

_It shone down upon the pure blade of Sode no Shirayuki resting in Rukia's hand. The white tail danced around her, creating a perfect circle around her that passed into crippled ripples around the soft wind._

_This was familiar…_ Where am I?

On the edge of darkness, _a whisper came from the wind. _

Don't fall.

_The sight set Rukia's lungs of fire. How had the enormous height of the potential fall escaped her notice? And that her feet were mere centimetres from the edge of the rooftop platform. It was not new, her being at such an edge; however, it was much safer to take caution than to bear the consequences…despite knowing it could never cause any real harm to her. Suddenly strangely unsettled, a breathe was caught in her lungs and a heartbeat skipped once, then the petite beauty took two steps back and descended from the half-foot long step onto the hard rooftop. _

_Her breathing came much easier now and the feverish state she remembered being in mere hours ago didn't weight her at all._ How did I end up here? Why does it feel as if there is no one else here? _She wondered many things, but didn't ponder for the elusive answer any longer._

_Still, she stood frozen upon the highest Sixth Division Barracks moon gazing, content to regard the beauty. _

_Sode no Sirayuki's white blade still in her hand, she found herself raising her arms outward to feel the cool wind and closed her eyes and breathed the fresh scent._

_Heavy footsteps sounded from behind._

"_Rukia…" Feeling Renji settle beside her, she couldn't help but to smile at the sight of his crimson hair and glad eyes. _

"_Renji," she turned back and her heavy lids dropped down completely._

_And when she opened her eyes again she was staring from a different angle. The change in scene didn't seem to bother her at all. The moon was directly above their heads and they were standing beside the plants growing in their clay pots. A purple flower she had never glimpsed before seemed to suddenly bloom in the dark, opening its petals with grace and no doubt giving away a sweet fragrance. Rukia was inclined to touch the gentle-appearing petals, but Renji's utter lack of moment stilled her. _

_She was finally able to take in the change in his demeanor._

_His expression was melancholic and his arms hanging useless by his sides. He was fixated on the moon like he did sometimes in the past, unable to tear those russet orbs away. He had never explained his captivation and sometimes deep aversion of the moon and she never asked though he had, without doubt, noticed her inquisition. _

"_It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked, hoping._

_He didn't reply. In fact, nothing in his expression seemed to change or give any indication that he even heard her. And just as Rukia was about to turn away, he then he proved her wrong by replying:_

"_Yes. Beautiful it may be, but," not once did he look at her, "It's unattainable." _

_His eyes were still captivated by the light. _

_That he supplied his next comment in a mournful voice did not escape her hearing. _

"_It's true. I've tried reaching." He said it in a smaller voice and Rukia felt that the words were not meant for her, but a self-acknowledged submission of defeat from her friend._

_She turned to him. She wanted to punch him out of his mood and into his gaining of victory because he was so much more than what he considered himself worth as. Wanting to comfort him, protect him from his pain like he always protected her. Her small hand slipped into his and Rukia was content to feel his large one grip hers back. The muted love she always felt for him flared back in full._

Renji…

_Rukia's eyes looked into the moonlit night path below and a moment of silence passed by without pause._

Beware, _the whisper came again. Her heart raced slightly and her head turned slightly, subconsciously tightening her grip on him further._

Of what?

_Her eyes drifted up again, once again to gaze upon the moon's beauty, lingering to notice the movements of the clouds. Her eyes shifted to one particularly bunny-shaped one._

_And then in the stillness of the night, movement was caught in her periphery. She turned, not fast enough, feeling like her sluggish, feverish self from earlier and kept the rising scream in her throat. Renji's hand slipped from hers and he didn't move at all, even as she witnessed with alarm the very moment the Sixth Division Captain stepped toward the very edge of the elevated rooftop on their opposite side without stopping to consider his fall and without breaking into shunpo._

"Nii-_"_

I can feel his intentions.

"_Nii-sama!" Her cry came too late, perhaps even unheard because the raven-haired man did not once turn or pause in his steps. Within a breath's span of time he was gone, falling off the edge like a crippled bird trying to fly, just as Rukia fastest flash step brought her harshly colliding with the platform's edge, double-bent and knuckles white as she tried to discern his location. _

_Crying out to her brother didn't help, even as her mind echoed her shrill screams._ Nii-sama, nii-sama, nii-sama…

_Rukia didn't see his body at the bottom, where could it be? _

"_Renji! Renji, did you see?"_

_Renji didn't move from his still standing position opposite her, continuing to be captivated in that hypnotise in that frozen manner from earlier. _

"_Renji! NII-SAMA!"_

_In a quiet voice, he said again. _

"_Like I said. Unattainable."_

Rukia…

Rukia…wake up.

_Still presenting his back to her, he didn't see the breathe catch in his throat and her widened eyes, first in disbelief but in some kind of understanding. She stepped into flash steps as she tore the air in two, not giving the great distance another glance and she descended the fall._

"_Nii-sama, Nii-sama!"_

_What was that? Who had grabbed her?_

Rukia!

_Adrenaline and fear in her veins, she –_

Snapped her eyes open and found herself gazed into Renji's russet eyes, hands restrained in Renji's grip. Renji had noticed her heavy breathing and the heaving chest that indicated her nightmare and Rukia noticed the light reddened mark on his jaw.

He frowned in concern, and nudged her shoulder to get her out of her daze.

"What the hell…Rukia. Ok?"

She sighed and in déjà vu, remembered for the first time dreaming the exact same thing the night of her fever weeks ago. Eyes wide, she wondered what it meant.

"Fine."

Renji rolled his eyes and rubbed his jaw. Trust those Kuchiki siblings to have it out for him with their nightmares alone.

* * *

_A desire _

_To remain on the clouds_

_Walking lightly in the wind_

_And listening to the harmony_

_The tranquility provides_

_Dab_, the lightest of sound echoed in onomatopoeia.

A pale hand reached toward a glassed over container of face cream and dipped a tapered finger into the moisture. Dabbing the lightly rose-white natural cream into his face, the noble proceeded to smooth it out over equality pale complexion. It was a rather harsh press and despite knowing it would not last past a few minutes, Byakuya noticed with a small amount of unfounded relief the colour that seemed to return to his face. There was not much he could do now. With that though, that knowing he would have to bear it as he always did, the captain fastened the lid over the bottle.

Byakuya leaned forward as he looked into the long mirror, wistfully wishing the deep circles of blackness would lesson or disappear entirely, almost wishing to ask the mirror for the change. _So foolish._ A pastel hand moved from below his tired eyes to above his temples, putting pressure on the area. The fatigue reddened eyes meant the headache was coming back full-force and there was not a way to stop it from persisting. _Just bear it._

He could not appear fresh even with a quick bath, forcibly making him fully realise the extent of the strain…of merely pushing his body 'too hard' while it suffered mentally. It showed in the visible results alone, unlike that of his usual functioning.

The book he had all but smuggled (_for the sake of secrecy_, he told himself) from the Kuchiki archives lay open to a marked page from earlier. As he had found the contents discouraging and not at all helpful for his quest of knowledge, the noble snapped the book closed with irritated fingers and continued on to tie a suffocating obi around his waist, a little looser than he normally would.

Hisana's portrait lay beside the bed as ever after. Byakuya closed his eyes; regret filling him for a tarnished memory took hold of him. Their tea house was tainted. He turned away, avoiding the lump forming in his throat by avoidance alone.

Glancing at the clock while purposely avoiding a last glance into his mirror, he reluctantly straightened his posture and swept past the distance to the interior doors with a last weary sigh.

_At least…I will not dishonour my family, will not bring dishonour on _them_._

_Can we never live in any semblance of peace?_

_Discontent crawling at my throat_

_Like a slope of a thousand profound blossoms_

_Engulfing storm feeding me as I suffocate_

_But can't listening to the whispers they betray_

* * *

Dinner was usually a quite affair, but with both Kurosaki and Abarai there it was expectedly loud. Both hot headed men tossed back teasing comments and mock fights that seemed to bear no apparent reason to the table topics. It was a great change from the usual dinnertime scene she shared with her brother and sometimes with other Kuchiki relatives.

Usually Rukia would disapprove of the reprimand worthy manners, but in this case she was glad for it. Her brother, who had seemed very prone to daydreaming and withdrawing into himself lately was distracted enough to keep whatever thoughts haunted him at bay. It was just such behaviour that seemed to distract him from whatever plagued him.

"I don't know if that's what you wanted to watch."

"Well, you should! I told you last time, dumbass!"

"What did you call me, Pineapple? See if I ever invite you to see a movie with the gang. Your pick sucks." Ichigo angrily shoved more food into his mouth with the ornate chopsticks.

"Fine. Whatever. You can choose next time. I wanna see the action one though. The cops and detectives, with the crime! With the best actors. Rukia, you better come this time."

"…Whatever," Ichigo grumbled.

Side by side, brother and sister both continued eating, somehow eluding the specifics of the conversation from entering, both silent as they observed their food. _It was true perhaps_, Rukia thought, _that we have become somewhat similar_. It was what Renji often joked about. Tossing a 'Whoa! What the - Don't gimme that look! You and the Taicho are so alike, it's freaky!' in astonishment and bemusement and then there were other comments from a few other people. It seemed Renji was voicing the other's comments more and Rukia wondered if it was indeed truly true.

Rukia didn't know what to think of it, but the fact Byakuya Nii-sama wasn't really aware of the teasing made it somewhat more amusing to her. _It could be_, she thought. And she found she didn't mind if it _was_ true. She would never, never forget her and Renji's past, but morphing into a person with manners as gentle (usually, other than those dry insults) and graceful as her brother was appealing and her admiration of him continued to grow over the four years they finally began to _know_ of each other. Really know, not just assume or pretend to, but share small secrets between family, impart little details of the first tie binding them (_Hisana nii-san…_) and now they would share similar friends in the form of two redheads. _I don't know if Nii-sama considers them friends, but he is fond of them, despite what they think sometime_s! It was just fun to tease them both too easily and she knew all too well how much.

She was his pride as he had once implied and she was honoured to be called such. It was so different than before where she would wander the gardens, only gazing at his brother's back as he walked in his gardens, and she would forever be alone. Trapped in the castle, she had jailed herself, and lost the man she loved in exchange for an icy brother. A distant one. It was all different now. Because now, she could walk beside her brother instead of straying behind him, wondering what kind of a person he was.

It was at a point that she could tell that something disturbed him greatly. She knew what she saw now. She hadn't a clue as to what, but along with the daydreaming he was…perturbed. He was undeniably perturbed, although he did it all too well. Living with her brother had these advantages, she realised.

His movements, his manners, all his habits were within her grasp for observation. She noticed that the first three weeks after her feverish nights many weeks ago his hands could not stop trembling, even if slightly. So slightly, that it could be hard to discern, presumptuously stopped with tightly controlled effort, but having meals together allowed her to come to her hypothesis. The shaking hands were present in the way he held his chopsticks, barely eating anything, though never being clumsy.

The petite shinigami wondered what it all meant. _Sometimes Byakuya-nii-sama didn't even seem to realise how much he is dazed, he would otherwise consider it rude._

"I had a strange dream… It was disturbing actually," Ichigo suddenly spoke again and she noticed for the first time the quietness that had taken hold of the room. Ichigo seemed to take little time reflecting back to the details of said dream as Rukia dully took in his words.

_A dream_… A sudden flash of images cajoled her mind. Rukia looked up suddenly, and Ichigo's eyes met hers.

"What dream?"

"I don't remember all the details, but it was… I was someone else and dreaming about me. A dream within a dream. It was Halloween and I some crazy, strange version of Frankenstein and Yuzu and Karin were operating on me! Then RukiRuki showed up, dressed in a witch outfit, still tiny, and bringing me to a castle. All dressed up, Ishida, Renji, Matsumoto, Toshirou, were there and my dad and Ishida's dad were trying to attack us!"

As Ichigo finished his dramatic speech, exhaling loudly, he frowned, trying to recall more details.

"RukiRuki?"

"Oi, I was there? What was I wearing?"

"Hmm… a white cloth maybe, maybe you were a ghost."

"White cloth – really? You can't come up with anything more creative?"

"No! Shut up, it was bandages actually. Your whole body was bandaged and I didn't recognise you what I saw ya."

"What kinda shit costume is that?"

"Ninja?" Rukia suggested.

"Nahh, you were a mummy! I remember now!"

"What the FU – a _what_?" Rukia snickered and the only indication that the words either amused or irritated Byakuya was the pause in his chopsticks.

"Fuck you, Renji! Not that, an Egyptian mummy, ya know? Where they wrap you up to preserve you after you die! Never mind, I think you said you were a pirate, defeated by Byakuya's seaweed thing."

"Huh? Never heard a' them. Egypt, you say? I've always wanted to see a pyramid!"

Ichigo stared at the shinigami's face and then burst out laughing, half hunched over the low table, seeming to be drunk off the moment of happiness he'd been granted today. Because Rukia had said _**yes**_ (not that he thought otherwise, _really_!). The shining of the mother's diamond ring on Rukia's dainty finger caught his eyes in the light and he smiled helplessly, briefly meeting her beautiful gaze.

"Ok there, Ichigo, enough chocolate for you! I don't want one of my best friends going crazy. Mental institutes is hard to come by in Seireitei."

"Ha, ha, Renji... _You're_ upset, but _I_ happen to have a baboon and crazy guy as one of my best friends."

"Why, you -"

"Renji, Ichigo, STOP!" Rukia attempted to stop the fools but they would not listen. Both fools seemed too absorbed in trying to askewer the other with their chopsticks, flinging them like tiny zanpakuto blades, forgetting for a minute where they were and who they were with, wholly intent on causing damage.

"_Chire_."

Instantly all movement stopped, both men held their breath awaiting a painful massacre of pink to attach their stiffened bodies. But nothing happened and Byakuya resumed his previous action of depositing a vegetable into his opened mouth. Still looking downward and focused on his food, Byakuya was able to hide the tiny amused smile threatening to appear.

Both redheads looked on, shocked at the anticlimactic moment.

"Kurosaki, please refrain from using your china as a weapon," paused Byakuya before he continued to eat, quirking an eyebrow at the young man.

"Ah… Ah…sure…sure, Byakuya!" And the youngest in their group didn't even glare at Rukia and Renji snickering beside him, slowly letting his ice-water-filled wine glass in his left hand down inch-by-inch without looking; right one still holding his makeshift weapon. Perhaps it was the If-You-Do-Any-of-This-to-Rukia-I-Will-Bankai-You Lecture's resonating intent the noble, helped by his lieutenant, had given earlier that had Ichigo comply.

"Abarai, refrain from spilling your drink."

Renji's mouth shut instantly and Rukia watched in amusement as he seemed to pale. It seemed both Renji and Ichigo – _along with every other known-to-be-sane shinigami_ – always abused their privilege being inside the noble Kuchiki mansion.

It was followed by a long moment of silently eating their colourful meal.

"You mentioned an odd term earlier. What is…Holloween?" Rukia's gaze shot up to her brother, almost disbelieving at the interest he showed of their banter. No such joking eyes. Her brother seemed to be quite serious as he always was and he even seemed to be expecting an answer from them.

"You've never heard of Halloween? All Hollows Eve? Well, I suppose you wouldn't, you never go to the living world. It's just a stupid day where everyone dresses up and takes the little kids out to get candy door to door. And those who get smashed drunk at their parties…Erm," Ichigo stopped at Rukia's sharp look.

"C'mon, tell him the real tale, Ichigo, he'd find that much more interesting!" Renji sipped his drink and looked imploringly at his friend and then turned to the still form of Byakuya sitting adjacent to him.

"It began as a religious event by the Christians… And it was the day before All Saint's Day, I think that was a holy day of some sort, hence the name hollow. Then it was just to prepare themselves for the worshipping and stuff they did on that day."

"That's not all, Ichigo!"

"I know, I'm just try'na remember. It's been awhile since I've been told of the history, ok… Um, there's also the evolution of the Samhain celebration the Celtics did…to get more people to join their faith and to prepare for the coming winter… Yup, that's all I remember."

Ichigo frowned in concentration, but nothing else touched his memory. But it didn't matter that much, did it? Byakuya probably had just found the name strange or the aspect of dressing up a little off. _He probably didn't know about Celtics or that kinda information, anyway._

"Now, it's just a modern celebration of the thirty first of October where people decide to dress up in crazy outfits and be stupid."

Byakuya's face lowered and he said nothing at all. Ichigo rolled his eyes and decided to continue, perhaps to make Byakuya a little more annoyed with his presence. It was a death wish after what he bared but it would be worth it! After all, they were soon to be brothers in law, which could only mean annoying each other was as natural in the course of natural law. With a smirk he continued.

"Then there are the other things associated. People see ghosts, maybe spirits on that day. All the time! And then there are reports of bizarre activities going on, not just the rapes or crazy killings and general increase of crime, but cults worshipping the Devil, trying to communicate with those living on the other side. Ya know, whatever they perceive to be in the other dimension."

"Of course, those are just an increase of hollows and other activities, _right_, Ichigo." The mop of tangerine coloured hair whipped the wind as he nodded, trying to appease Rukia, but focusing solely on her brother sitting directly in front of him. Byakuya didn't look up but all movements he had previously exhibited stopped. His chopsticks were stilled and hands seemed to pale somehow.

Ichigo's eyes furrowed and then he smirked a little. _Maybe the idea of ghosts was what startled the I'll-never-fear-anything Byakuya._

"In many religions they mention other creatures... Angels, devils, demons, jinn, what else? Soul society doesn't seem to think about any of these things the way humans do."

"But you don't either. You've never really thought about religion much, Ichigo."

"Hahaha, true… I was just saying. It's just a little interesting, even if not true." Ichigo paused, lowering his eyes to the fruit bowl placed in the middle. Apples, so vividly red, were resting innocently within. Ichigo's eyes flickered up again.

"C'mon, Rukia, you don't know that. It's true that most of them probably are, but what about those unexplained phenomenon? Like crazy spells of _smell_ that just starts from nowhere? Some of them are beautiful to inhale; hollows don't smell good. Or what about possessing? What about those so called haunted houses those are actually true? And maybe there really is another dimension than soul society?"

"Since when did you believe in those things, Ichigo?"

"Believe! I was just saying, it doesn't mean it's not true even if I believe or don't, Renji. Or… maybe that's just people making up nonsense!"

If possible, Byakuya's tight grips on his chopsticks were clasped in a death grip. _What the hell kinda reaction was that? Was he really just interested in the term or…? Was there some truth to what Renji said? _That his future brother-in-law seemed kinda spooked by something. Even he had felt that alarmed reiatsu weeks ago. _Byakuya sure seemed weird these last few weeks too. Weirder than normal…_

Byakuya was not so much weird at all, just somewhat reserved, always perfectly polite to the fault of being extremely intentionally insulting. It was more that he was even more reclusive as of late.

The bigger question was why.

Perhaps the All Hollow's Eve really had no connection to anything. Perhaps it was just Byakuya and his strange interest in the name alone (he was bound to hear of it at least once) and not the spiritual connection that were associated. Ichigo might have thought that, if not for the big hint the noble had given away without even realising it. The sudden whiteness embracing his already pale face certainly said as much.

"Nii-sama…?"

Ichigo watched with barely concealed interest as he watched Byakuya to see what the noble would do next. _What is he doing? He looks speechless…_

"…I'm fine, Rukia. Please continue your explanation, Kurosaki." Byakuya's bowed head had come up and while his eyes possessed a wild glint to them never seen before; his calm controlled exposition disclosed no more of the inner working of the meticulous mind. The tired redness indicating weariness in his eyes seemed a little a little brighter.

Ichigo watched him curiously, barely hearing his words and then suddenly feeling the tripled weight of intent eyes on him. He scowled.

"Uhh…what?"

"It is not in my disposition to repeat myself, Kurosaki." The heavily dropped eyes were fixed on him in a purely the noble Byakuya-like glare. _Oh, shit. Maybe he's been taking lessons from Unohana-taicho…_

"Hah, hah… Sure… Byakuya…" Every now and then Byakuya would try and approach the ever-hanging topic of addressing his so informally. Every now and then Ichigo stopped to consider never stopping to use any honorifics with the dapper noble.

"Do elaborate on these oddities you mentioned…this scent."

"Eh? Well…I dunno. There've been reports of strange phenomenon in haunted areas, specifically previously uninhabited houses…doors that open themselves, lights flickering on and off periodically…but they're all done by hollows, y'know? They just can't let go of their past. Since most humans can't see them they assume it's a spirit or a ghost." Ichigo leaned forward, cupping his chin in his left hand, eyes darting toward the elegant fruit bowl again. _Why would Byakuya even want to know about these things?_ His wondering eyes took in the strangely perfect shapes of the apples, their gleam on the smooth surface as the chandelier lights shone from overhead.

"But…about the smells. I have no idea if they real or not, but I've heard a few situations which have them, I've never actually been around anything like that, but I know someone who had. Maybe they're actually crazy…but the guy was so sane and nice. He ended up moving away. It's a mystery…" Ichigo sported his default face, the frown, before finally tearing his eyes away from the centre of the table to his friends.

Renji had an impassive face on him, completely blank and one he used to make while thinking deeply on a matter that confused him. Rukia just looked disinterested.

"Why so interested?"

His soon to be brother-in-law looked also had an impassive expression, Ichigo knew him enough to say he was also probably thinking deeply on an undisclosed matter. Inky soot strands of hair feel around his shoulders and sides and his skin so pale it was white as snow. His eyes were also ensnared by the same bowl of fruits Ichigo's were earlier, and he was still as a statue.

So still, he could be one if not for the rise and fall of his chest indicating his slight heavier than usual breathing.

_What the hell?_

"Merely out of curiosity."

Ichigo turned to the side, frowned at the wall and silently asked it questions, half hoping for an impossible reply for those answers.

Byakuya's hand moved of its own accord. Something to distract him, something to keep the attention away from him, his mind echoed. _Something_ to do. The spices left in his mouth were uncomfortably hot today and his body felt aflame outside yet cold as ice from inside.

The reddest one lay atop the rest, a magnificent ruby, his hand plucked it from its place and cupped it before him. The left hand resting on his lap left its place to join the other, now spreading the weight of the ruby apple between the two limbs.

Unknown to the noble, the sudden action caused eyes of the three other occupants in the room to fall upon his form, specifically on his hand, cupping the perfect apple before him, ready to bite into the forbidden fruit.

_The way he holds it…_ It reminded Rukia of something.

Byakuya brought the fruit closer to his mouth and parted his lips.

It was the most perfect, appealing apple she had ever seen.

_Maybe the apple really is poisoned?_ And with that thought she remembered watching that naïve film two years ago with Yuzu in the Living world. While on a visit to Ichigo for the weekend, Yuzu had announced she had rented an old Disney flim, _Snow White_, and wanted someone to watch it with her. Karin had declined and headed up to her room and their father, if home would have proudly exclaimed he would be perfect for watching a movie with his beloved daughter, had been away on business. Ichigo had been mainly hiding in the adjourning dinner hall and while sputtering curses and eye roles at the idiotic princess, had also been shovelling his beloved chocolate into his mouth.

Rukia remembered being fascinated with the film. With a different animation and theme, it was very different to the various amounts of Japanese films she had seen before. The English language also fascinated her and while she felt the Disney Princess really was too naïve, the heart in the box, the obsession with apples the real world had aroused her curiosity. Many portray apples as the fruit of death, of _poison_. Eve's lips were parted to take a bit of the fruit, Adam beside her and the fall of humanity already upon her. Snow White and her poison apple encasing her in a glass coffin cold within Death's embrace.

The real world and their strange fascinations…

Renji would know also, he was there when they watched it. He had arrived five minutes into the film.

Her brother's face bowed with those still parted lips waiting to meet the fruit, a loose bang fell forward.

Ichigo and Renji were leaning forward now, waiting in the same unfounded anticipation as she.

_Just one bite…_

_Skin white as snow, hair black as ebony._ And it left Rukia transfixed in a strange pull to her brother as the poison apple brushed against his lips. It was a sudden inexplicable, utterly _demented_ paranoia that struck her. Her brother's name at the tip of her tongue as she yelled for –

With a small crunch his teeth dug into the apple's sweet flesh, the heavy juice of the ripe fruit began in a thin line in a descent on his chin.

…_Arrest._

Her eyes bugged, heartbeat rose higher in an inner symphony, alarmed, Rukia had to blink. She had clearly seeing things.

Because then, between gaps between his arms from those hands clutching the apple, she saw it. A trail of red dribbling down from her brother's mouth to the chin and then ran across the pale flesh of his neck. Crimson liquid came again from the second, smaller bite and joined the first as it soaked into the heavy cotton just beneath Byakuya's neck.

"Rukia?" Her brother had looked away from the fruit and upon seeing her almost frantic expression, called out in concern for her. It dispelled the strange spell of the moment.

With a start she realised her hand was outstretched in front of her, as if to call out to Byakuya, warn him, _don't do_ –

But there was nothing. Absolutely, there was no poison on him from the fruit, just regular-looking transparent juice of a fruit.

…_What? _

She blinked again to make sure she was certainly not in a dream or a hallucination. She watched as he reached for a napkin.

Certainly not.

"I'm fine, Nii-sama." The words left automatically, she barely registered them and later when she would try to recall the conversation she would find nothing coming to memory, just the motion of the imaginary vivacious scarlet liquid dripping down his still-alive neck.

Ichigo blinked and saw nothing.

Renji stared the dream in the face, unable to tear those dazed russet eyes away; Rukia noted he was still transfixed as ever.

Nothing made much sense.

* * *

Tremors rocked his slender, once previously steel stronger frame and his clenched hands tightened to form fists around his robes. He leaned forward, resting his head against the wall, slowly making a ritual of the breathing process to gain some calm.

Standing in the darkness, he closed his eyes and tried to erase everything.

He had found out something important today. What he experienced, it was real! It had to be, there was no doubt! Kurosaki Ichigo himself had indicated there were such experiences to be had for other humans. Surely that would mean shinigami could also experience such…although he had never heard of any.

It was a relieved sigh that escaped Byakuya's parted, trembling flushed lips. All that stress, all those severe mental debates, all that without Senbonzakura talking of it, all those nightmares, _Ichigo's words_, it proved something. It was not a bout of insanity. It was real.

It was a liberating feeling, to know that truth. Because though he had faced it, knowing it was an illusion of his mind and the other implications…terrified him to an impossible degree.

But even if it was true, the implications alone were leaving no hints.

His heartbeat raced along his thoughts and then words formed in his mouth because he had to say _something_, anything, to let out a percent of his relief was to strengthen his body.

"Yes. _Yes_…" A chant began.

But even is if was true… And then that particular image flooded his vision. Peering into the _mirror-mirror_ water's glassy surface, the moon breaking as ripples produced defiance; the spreading blood in the water. _And the... One dying within_... Despite blinking furiously it would not leave his already poisoned mind. It did not urge him to puke this time but the carnal pain surging through his stomach overwhelmed him into moving.

Navigating around the room was not a problem in the dark and seconds later the noble death god buried his face in a pillow, it swallowing a shrill growl of emotion. In the privacy of his room, Byakuya breathed was helplessly to let his composure slip completely over.

A large mirror across the room showed his reflection, so lost; he started for a moment, dark orbs shared back. He stared on for a moment at the other, disturbing himself. The captain yanked the drapes across and hid the poison inside him not only from the world, but also from himself.

* * *

_"Mirror-mirror, on the wall,_

_Who is the fairest of them all?"_

_- _Snow White

* * *

**A/N:** The fragrance…is something one of my friends kept experiencing every day during twilight and nighttime for many long months, more than a year…eerily strong and especially coming from the direction of the single, large tree in the yard, in the dead of winter where perfume or other scent is not prone to lingering…always with a strange alarming feeling as she described...She eventually moved. That's where my inspiration for that bit came from!

Note that Ichigo wasn't actually the one to have the dream described in episode 304.

The muse has left…so not sure when chapter five will be out as a result, if at all. Also…I'm ashamed to admit I don't know where this story is quite leading to anymore, it took a fine turn from my original plans. But it's ok! Thank you for reading, thank you to _Flower in the River_ and _La terrible La_! These reviews are what kept me going! I'm wondering…are the rest of you still interested? ^^


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